Wanton Warrior Read online

  "Where I come from, when a woman gets on her knees in front of a man, it's to take him into her mouth."

  Surely he doesn't mean...

  He chuckled softly. “We'll save that for much later if your face reflects your knowledge of such practices."

  Tye liked his promise of much more to come, even if it overwhelmed her. “I think you're the right one to show me these things. Your words and tone cause chaos inside my body unlike anything I've ever known."

  He chuckled again, a deep, rumbling sound that traveled straight to her sex and tingled.

  "We've only just begun. And I have five more nights to convince you of my value as a man."

  He reached down, placed his hands under her arms and lifted her, without even the smallest of groans. Her estimation of him grew. This time when he held her tight against his body, he kissed her with breathless intensity. Everywhere their bare skin touched was the most unique experience in all her years. Touching another human while completely naked thrilled and excited her beyond belief. Why hadn't her sister told her?

  Tye wanted to savor the moment, but it created a sense of urgency that made her want to go faster ... to get to the next step.

  Tye hung on tight and tried to mimic his movements as best she could. When next he pushed her away, it startled her. Chilled air replaced the heat where their bodies had touched. She opened her eyes to see what had stopped him. He held her at arms’ length, his handsome face twisted in a frown.

  "Promise me you'll try to be patient with me."

  Tye didn't understand what he asked of her. “Be patient? Is that part of making love?"

  Cradon shook his head. “No, I meant afterward. I always keep my word, even if it may not appear so. I'll make certain you're never sorry you met me."

  Even if it may not appear so? This man had secrets. Right then, she didn't care a bit. She only wanted back into the warmth of his arms. She believed him, or maybe other secret parts inside of her had influenced what remained of her thought process.

  She gave him a smile and a nod.

  When his lips came down on hers again, the intensity increased. Her insides buzzed and heated. When he stopped kissing her a second time, she didn't have time to grow frustrated before he kissed down the side of her neck. The touch of his lips, both hot and soft, made her ache for more. Tingling ran from the nape of her neck down her back. Her heart drummed against her ribs, and she gulped to catch her breath.

  When he continued his downward path, Tye considered what she'd seen happening to her sister. Did he plan to do it to her? He'd said he wanted to. Her sex clenched and it became harder to breathe.

  His mouth closed over one of her nipples and a good deal of time passed before she could think of anything at all. Sensations she never dreamed possible burst inside her and traveled to her sex. She grabbed hold of his head and threaded her fingers through his hair in case he changed his mind. He laved her other nipple and found the juncture between her thighs with his hand. The combination caused her knees to go weak.

  Then he stopped.

  Before she could ask what she'd done wrong, Cradon swept her into his arms and walked toward her bed. With her face pressed against his chest, the manly scent of him filled her head. He smelled of the redsa flower soap from his bath and an earthy muskiness that came after cleansing rain washed the tanco leaves. She closed her eyes and made a promise to never forget this smell ... or this moment for as long as she lived.

  He took pains to lay her gently upon her bed. How fortunate to have found a man who would initiate her into womanhood with care and thoughtfulness.

  Tye wanted...

  She didn't know for what, but she wanted and needed something before she exploded from the inside out. Every nerve ending, each place he touched, changed from ordinary skin and bones to something liquid and hot that she didn't recognize. “Please?"

  He joined her on the bed and pushed her legs apart with a hand on either side of her inner thighs before easing his weight on top of her. He pinned her in place. Tye liked the sensation—the closeness and especially the anticipation her wait would soon be ended.

  The touch of their skin nearly made her weep ... so perfect. Nothing in her life could compare to this. His chest against her sensitive nipples, his hot, soft skin made her privates clench with spasms of pleasure. She ran both hands along his muscled back and he arched into her, pushing against the juncture between her legs. She slid her hands along the curve of his lower back and up the slope of his buttocks until her arms were fully extended.

  "Raise your knees."

  When she did as he asked, that part of him moved lower and prodded against the channel she wanted filled. She wrapped her arms around him and waited in breathless anticipation. But, instead of entering her as she expected, he pushed against her the length of her slit and rocked back and forth. The friction of his hard length against her sensitive parts ignited a fire inside her. A sense of urgency took over. A continuous pulse of pleasure created by the friction grew with every movement. She wiggled against him to give herself more of whatever this was ... so delicious. Every moment or so, a throb of bliss ratcheted the pleasure higher.

  She discovered it didn't necessarily have to be about putting his cock inside her. The pleasure escalated into a keening thrum so perfect...

  "No wonder,” she whispered into the hollow under his collar bone.

  He pulled up onto his elbows. His eyes were pewter in the light from her lamp. “The best is yet to come."

  How?

  Impossible.

  His eyes were searching hers as he continued to move against her. That part of her at the front of her mound seemed to grow and harden. His eyes darkened.

  Nothing could feel better than this. Every move was better than the previous. Each second made the bliss escalate. Suddenly, a lightning jolt of perfect pleasure hit her out of the blue and her back bowed, lifting them both off the bed. She jerked again hard with the explosive sensation. At the same time, Cradon buried his cock inside her. The pleasure peaked and waned and then peaked again. The walls of her sex clenched and released on their own.

  Awe and even surprise didn't begin to describe the thrill inside her for this new experience. Why don't the women of Metra talk about sex ... rave about it? Why had no one told her? This sublime, unbelievable and most perfect bliss imaginable didn't come close to her expectations.

  "The first time isn't always the best."

  What did he say? Had she heard right?

  Cradon didn't move until her sex stopped squeezing him. Her focus went from the pleasure he gave her to the sensation of having a thick root inside her body unlike anything she'd experienced.

  Was it over? Would he do it again? If there was any chance it could get better than what she'd just experienced, she wanted to do it again. Right away!

  And then he began to move. Just like that, the tension came rushing back. Was it going to happen again?

  * * * *

  Cradon had only begun when his balls tucked into firing position. What about this woman made him unable to control himself? And, for the first time with a woman in his arms, he had to fight back his beast. Only rage was supposed to bring it out. Why did it claw at his insides now?

  Was his remorseful conscience communicating with his cock? He'd make love to Tye, even if he wasn't trying to get tanco for his colony ... Wouldn't he?

  He fought harder to gain control, easing slowly in and out of her tight heat. His heart beat so fast and hard he wondered if he might not survive fucking her. To make matters worse, even though a virgin, she was a quick study. She moved with him in perfect harmony.

  His beast fought him for control and, as a result, he fucked her in a feverish pitch. The more he tried to pull back, the more frenzied his beast became. His cock grew longer and harder than he'd ever known.

  Despite his bizarre rutting, Cradon sensed a change in her. Was it possible she would have another orgasm? The women of Cadi made him work twice as hard. This woman h
ad a raw sensuality which enticed him beyond the norm, certainly beyond his experience. Her skin tasted of honeyed tanco. When the walls of her sex began to clutch him, he lost it. His orgasm barreled through him faster than the Greton comet on its descent through the galaxy.

  Would he survive?

  Or would his beast take over?

  CHAPTER 5

  A scream from the garden below tore Tye out of a sound sleep to sit upright in her bed. Her first thought was for Wyn.

  She leaped up from the comfort of Cradon's arms. He didn't say anything, but followed right behind. When she stopped only to shrug into her moram, he did the same with his bagdas. Out her bedroom door she raced, taking the stairs three and four at time, hesitating only by necessity at the locked door leading to the garden.

  A second scream made her wonder if she'd get to Wyn on time. The sound of bare feet thumping on the stone floor told her Cradon was close behind. Outside, near where Tye had seen her sister with her lover, a growling alpana had Wyn backed against a wall.

  The sight momentarily paralyzed her. Never had an alpana come inside the colony, let alone inside their walled garden. Tye didn't know what to do. She'd heard of weapons easy enough for a woman to use with only the lightest of touches, but the only arms allowed by the colonists were heavy swords.

  "Don't move,” she told her sister. “I'll get Father's sword."

  "Please, don't leave me,” Wyn moaned.

  Cradon heroically bolted barehanded past Tye and toward the angry, snarling beast. It made her proud to think she'd given herself to a man like this—so fearless. At the same time, she'd just found him and wasn't ready to let him go. She didn't want to lose him to an alpana.

  "It will kill you,” she said between clenched teeth. “You're unarmed."

  Cradon stopped, turning his back on the alpana to stare at her. Was he insane instead of heroic?

  "This alpana belongs to me."

  He was crazy! “No one in any of the colonies on Tarra keeps an alpana for a pet. Not even a Fani. Only the Cadites would be so foolish. Or so I've heard."

  He raised his hand and the alpana bounded toward him in a single long leap and then rubbed its whiskered face against Cradon's hip. On his hind legs, the beast reached Cradon's shoulders and, at six-and-a-half feet, he towered above most of the Metrans. The beast must weight six or seven hundred pounds. “Did you follow me, girl?"

  No way! Tye had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that her wisecrack might be true. Could she have given herself to a Cadite?

  Her sister collapsed against the rock wall in a heap and began to sob loudly. “W-who is this man and why would he bring an alpana into our private garden? Is my sister right about you? Are you a Cadite?"

  Tye held her breath while she waited for his answer.

  * * * *

  "Yes, I'm from the Cadi colony.” If she hated him for that, she'd hate even more to learn of the beast inside him.

  Tye launched herself at him with a raised fist. She wanted to hurt him like he'd just hurt her with his revelation. “I fucked a Cadite? Do you realize you've sentenced me to death?"

  "Tye, no! You didn't!” Wyn struggled to her feet and dove for him a second later. The alpana growled and stepped in front of Cradon, effectively stopping both women.

  He grabbed hold of the alpana and sank his finger into the thick fur on the beast's shoulders. “Easy, girl. They're not thinking. Otherwise, they'd realize they've both been fucked tonight under penalty of death.” He looked pointedly at Tye. “Or wouldn't you say what we saw your sister doing here in the garden qualifies as fucking. It sure looked that way to me."

  Wyn turned to Tye with pain and embarrassment clear on her face. “Did you see me too?"

  "I've known for a long time, Wyn. This wasn't the first time I've seen you with another woman."

  "This is all your fault!” Wyn snapped at Cradon. Her yellow-green eyes blazed with hatred. In the next moment, she spat on the ground at his feet.

  Cradon jerked like he'd been slapped by Wyn. “The way I see it, all three of us could lose our lives if we don't stick together. Tye for shedding her clothes in front of two men and you"—he pointed to Wyn—"for perverted sex practices. My crime is sleeping with a Metran female, and that's no more the most Metrans would expect from a Cadite. I think my crime pales in comparison to yours. Of course, if you were Cadite, there'd be no crime to consider at all."

  Wyn moved nearer, her fists still clenched, but the stiffness of her shoulders eased. “A Cadite woman can love another woman without fear of recrimination? It's not against your laws?"

  "Against the law? Hardly,” Cradon huffed. “It happens all the time ... or used to in happier times. Unfortunately, the last couple of years, my people are too worried about survival to think about having a good time."

  He had Tye's attention. “Why? What has happened to your colony?"

  "Our altitude is too high to grow tanco and our other crops have failed miserably. Our people have been slowly starving to death. I intend to take my winnings as a protector to buy tanco. If I'm successful, I can purchase enough food to last an entire year."

  A single tanco could feed two people for a week. They could be dried without losing their extraordinary nutritional value. Still, the Cadite population must be dwindling if he thought he could feed the entire population on what he'd earn. “How many mouths do you have to feed?"

  "You realize it's a test of my trust to reveal the truth to you. Many Metrans would like nothing better than to eradicate my race permanently. If they should discover how few of us remain..."

  "My sister and I are not bigots.” Wyn fisted her small hands and glared at Cradon and his alpana.

  "It's true,” Tye said.

  He raised his brow and gave her a sensual look. “Really? Glad to hear it. However, you two are a minority. I was worried about men coming to know this information, not the women of the colony.” And in truth, while they might not believe they were bigots, Cradon couldn't be certain.

  "I curse the day my great-great-grandparents left twenty-second century Earth to colonize this planet,” Tye said.

  Cradon huffed. “I curse the day your ancestors decided to bring slaves with them."

  "Your people weren't slaves. They were paid servants."

  "With no rights and no laws to protect them, they were not servants. Not even close. No wonder they revolted and went to the mountains to form their own colony."

  "I'm tired. This day has been too long and—” Tye's posture betrayed her exhaustion.

  "If we trust one another to stay quiet, we can all sleep soundly. I, for one, like my sleep. Silda and I will retire here in the garden. Rest assured, with Silda around, no one will dare disturb the peace of this household."

  Cradon laid on the alpana throw where he'd seen Tye's sister making love. The scent of female bodies still clung to alpana fur throws and made Silda restless, as well as his beast within. Could that be why he had difficulty controlling his beast? He'd never come to the tanco fields for a harvest before, so hadn't known what to expect when near wild alpana. His father had warned there were unknown dangers. Could this lack of control be one of those dangers? When he'd come to the colony, he hadn't planned to seduce a Metran female. However, when she'd shown herself in all her naked glory, it had seemed the logical progression of things.

  He closed his eyes to savor the memory of her standing before the fireplace with the light from it glowing around her. She almost equaled him in height, and her generous body curved in all the right places. He'd wanted her at that moment more than he'd ever wanted another woman. Or had he been under the control of his beast? All of this was new and confusing ... in the past, he'd always had complete control of his beast. Had this thing with Tye flawed his instincts?

  Much about Tye's physical appearance excited him. She had arresting yellow-green eyes, a more subdued shade than her sister's. They both had midnight black hair and pale, smooth skin, but Tye's plump lips couldn't be equaled. The
y dominated her lovely oval face and made him think of kissing her ... forever.

  The rumors one sister was beautiful, while the other was ugly, didn't compute. Tye's larger proportions had to be the reason behind the gossip, and it made Cradon angry for her sake. If she heard the talk, perhaps she even believed the misperceptions created by her own kind. Not only was she beautiful, Cradon much preferred her substance to the smallness desired by most of the small Metran men.

  Now so many emotions warred inside him, along with the very physical presence of his beast, who was out of sorts. Never would he have believed his life could be turned upside down like this.

  He'd had sex with enough women in the past to think he understood the mysteries of sex and womanhood well, but this hadn't been about sex ... he'd made love for the first time. And for the first time, his beast had tried to interfere or take over—Cradon wasn't sure which.

  It worried him.

  The peace inside his heart had been disturbed. His control as a Tifcan warrior had been called into question. Never would he have imagined it possible.

  Silda inched up to lay beside him. He dug his fingers into her fur and the beast inside him settled. Silda began to purr loudly and with her so did his beast. The sound lulled him as his predominantly sexual thoughts battled his fatigue.

  CHAPTER 6

  Tye had just fallen asleep when her bed dipped under the weight of another body.

  He'd come.

  Her heart leaped in her chest. Had her inner chant for him to come to her worked?

  She'd lain awake most of the night mentally willing him to join her, and hating herself for wanting a Cadite.

  Elation filled the places where sadness, betrayal and longing had painfully held her captive since she'd learned the ugly truth about the man she'd given her body to. Hadn't it been more than just that?

  He brushed his large, calloused hand along her cheek. “I should've told you about me—who and what I am—first. I'm sorry."

  She threaded her fingers through his silky hair as the length of it fell on her chest. She wrapped her hand in the strands and rubbed it on her cheek. The rich, unique scent she now recognized as his, made her sigh. “Yes, you should have. But I've had some time to think about this ... knowing what I know now, I would've made love to you anyway."